READ
First reading: Jos 5:9a, 10-12
Second reading: 2 Cor 5:17-21
Gospel: Lk 15:1-3, 11-32
UNDERSTAND | By Father Greg Friedman, OFM
Did you know God has a “dream for the world”?
From the dawn of creation, described in the Book of Genesis, the story of the Bible relates how God created the world to be a place of harmony. The Garden of Eden is a beautiful symbol of this harmonious world. The Promised Land, as it’s depicted in our first reading this Sunday, also shows us a vision of what God has in store for the human family. There, Joshua leads God’s people into the “land of milk and honey.”
Jesus captures God’s dream for the world in the Gospel story today. It’s the familiar story of the Prodigal Son, better titled “The Father Who Couldn’t Forget.” There, our God is portrayed as the parent who waited day after day for his errant child to return. What a beautiful picture of God!
Throughout history, though human beings have strayed constantly, following their own ideas for happiness, God has held fast to a dream of harmony and made it come true with forgiveness. Jesus, and Christians who seek to follow him, embody that dream in our world today.
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DISCUSS | By Father Dan Kroger, OFM
In the first reading, where were the Israelites when God spoke to Joshua?
According to the second reading, what new things will come from God?
In the Gospel parable who do you identify with? What was the point of the parable?
ACT | By Susan Hines-Brigger
Take some time to reflect on how you would have reacted if you were the older brother in today’s Gospel story.
